Tanzania ranked within top five African investment destinations

DAR ES SALAAM, Feb.19 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania has joined Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa and Mauritius as the top five potential investment destinations in Africa, according to a recent African Rainbow survey.

"Africa is going to overtake the Middle East to become the second fastest growing region in the world after emerging Asia," said African Rainbow chief executive Katharine Pulvermacher, "It will be affected by the global financial crisis but it is much less exposed than many places."

The London-based business consultancy firm ranks the 53 countries in Africa in its Star of Africa index in terms of their investment potentials in various aspects.

Survey: CEO confidence plummets to new low

Special Report: Premier Wen's "trip of Confidence" to Europe


Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Battered by
recession, CEO's confidence about future prospects for business has plummeted
and they expect only a slow, gradual recovery over the next three years,
according to an annual survey released on Wednesday.

Worldwide, just 21 percent of CEO's said they were
very confident of revenue growth in the next 12 months, down from 50 percent in
last year's survey, said the 12th Annual global CEO Survey conducted by
PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The survey, released by the British accounting firm
at the 2009 World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, said more than a
quarter of business CEOs were pessimistic about prospects for the coming year.

CEOs worldwide were also gloomier about longer term
growth as well, predicting a slow recovery, said the survey, which was based on
interviews with 1,124 CEOs in 50 countries during the last quarter of 2008.

Only 34 percent of CEOs said they were very confident
of growth over the next three years, down from 42 percent last year, when CEOs
were just beginning to recognize the full impact of the credit crisis on the
global economy.

"The speed and intensity of the recession has rocked
the psyches of CEOs and created a global crisis of confidence," said
PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global CEO Samual DiPiazza, Jr..

"CEOs are most concerned about the immediate survival
of their companies. Even in once rapidly emerging economies, companies are now
coping with issues like unavailable credit, sluggish capital markets, and
collapsing demand," he said.

The impact of the recession in the world's major
economies, cited by 85 percent of survey respondents worldwide, continued to
dominate concerns of CEOs and was the only risk factor to increase among CEO's
concerns, the survey said.

Other major risk factors included disruption in the
capital markets, cited by 72 percent, over-regulation, 55 percent, energy costs,
50 percent, and availability of key talent, 46 percent, it added.

Survey: U.S. consumer confidence jumps in April

NEW YORK, April 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. consumer confidence improved considerably in April, boosted by the hope that the worst may be over for the economy, according to a survey whose result was released on Tuesday.

The New York-based Conference Board said in a statement that its Consumer Confidence Index rose more than 12 points to 39.2, up from a revised 26.9 in March. The surprise jump easily passed economists' expectations for 29.5 and is the highest level since last November's 44.7.

The survey showed that consumers' short-term outlook of the economic conditions and job market improved substantially.

"Consumer Confidence rose in April to its highest reading in 2009, driven primarily by a significant improvement in the short-term outlook," Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in a statement. "The sharp increase in the Expectations Index suggests that consumers believe the economy is nearing a bottom, however, this Index still remains well below levels associated with strong economic growth."

The April jump in consumer confidence comes after a small increase in March, following a huge slide in February. The current reading remains well below the year-ago level of 62.8.

"The Present Situation Index posted a moderate gain, a sign that conditions have not deteriorated further, and may even moderately improve, in the second quarter," Franco said.

The market reacted positively to the survey result with Wall Street paring early losses.

Survey: Chinese more bullish on economy

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

BEIJING, April8 -- Forty-five percent of Chinese on the mainland feel that the national economy has been getting stronger, according to a recent global economic confidence survey conducted in 19 countries by N-Dynamic Market Research Consultancy.

Only 8 percent of the respondents globally were
bullish about the economy, the survey showed.

(Source: China Daily)
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The survey revealed that the Chinese have the most
confidence in their local economy, while the Japanese and the British were the
most pessimistic, with 82 percent of those respondents saying their economies
were getting worse, while 72 percent of respondents in the U.S. were
pessimistic.

Only 48 percent of Chinese respondents felt the pinch
of the financial turmoil, while 98 percent of their counterparts in Japan, South
Korea and the U.S. said they were hit hard, according to the study done earlier
this year among 16,000 respondents all over the world.

With respect to personal financial condition only 15
percent of Chinese respondents painted a gloomy picture, while over half of the
respondents in South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Mexico did.

Nearly 40 percent of Chinese respondents believed the
economy would recover within six months to two years. While only 13 percent of
Chinese respondents felt the crisis would last for more than two years, the
world's average was 36 percent.

Priscilla Sze, managing director of N-Dynamic, said
business enterprises all over the world were eyeing Chinese consumers.

"Some enterprises might enter the China market for
the first time to cater to the needs of Chinese consumers. Export-oriented
companies like apparel firms might switch to target the domestic market by
building their own brands. It would result in more choices for the consumers at
the retail level."

On the downside, 42 percent of Chinese respondents on
the mainland have already tightened their belts on daily necessities. Nearly
one-third of the Chinese respondents held back their property buying plans,
compared to the world's average of 23 percent.

Half of the Chinese respondents adopted a
wait-and-see attitude on consumption while 20 percent said it was a bad time to
buy now, which still fared much better than the global average of 48 percent.

Though 40 percent of the Chinese respondents had
confidence in keeping their jobs in the next six months, 30 percent expressed
concern, especially those aged 36-45.

The global economic confidence survey was conducted
in February among 1,000 people aged 18-60 in 57 cities across 30 provinces in
China. N-Dynamic is a member of International Research InstituteS (IriS), a
global network composed of independent market research agencies across 30
countries.

(Source: China Daily)